Machine for making ax-polls and similar tools



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. W. BOWERS.

MACHINE FOR MAKING AX POLLS AND SIMILAR TOOLS.

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(No Model.)

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MACHINE FOR MAKING AX POLLS AND SIMILAR TOOLS. No. 296.817. PatentedApr. 15, 1884.

MQWM- Nrrn STATES Aren't rrrcn.

- J OHN W'. BOXVEBS, OF FRANKLIN, ASSIGNOR TO THE DOUGLAS AXE MANU-FAOTURIKG COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MQACHENE FOR MAKlNG AX- POLLSIAND SHVHLAR rooLs.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 296,817, dated April15, 188%.

Application filed February 23, 1883. (No model.)

' it all whom it may concern:

' which the following is an accurate description.

My invention relates to machines for making axes and similar articles;and it consists in the improved form and construction of the dies usedfor swaging or pressing axes, ax-polls,

pickaxes, &c., and the meansfor holding and operating the lower or anvildie.

Prior to my invention the manner of making air-polls has been to heat astrip of metal about double the length of the aX-poll, to pass thisbetween formingrollers to give it a desired shape before folding, andthen tofold it over uponitself by suitable machinery and weld the twoends .1 togeth er. Afterward awedge or pin was forced ..-bet-ween thetwo laminae of this folded plate at the part where the eye was to beformed, and the plate, with the pin or mandrel through it, was placedunder a drop-hammer, in which was a set of dies formed by cutting thematrix in two equal parts horizontally, thus leaving one half of each ofthe faces, which formed an edge of the poll, in the upper part, and theother half of each in thelower part, of the die,

so that when the two parts of the die approach one another, if theamount of metal in the blank is greater than the capacity of the matrix,the excess will be forced out of the matrix into the space left betweenthe two parts before they can be brought tightly together, which wouldcause a fin to be formed around the a:r-poll, at the median linesthereof. Dies with one or more open sides have also been used to formsuch folded plates into aX-polls, in which case any excess of metalwould be forced out at the open sides, and would have to be out off orhammered into shape before finishing the ax. AX-polls have also beenformed upon the end of abar of metal by compressing it into shapebetween jaws containing dies of the proper fornnwhi'ch jaws moredownward while the poll is held firmly between them, and thus force apunch partly through the poll from edge to edge in one direction, andthen, reversing the poll, re-

peat the operation, thereby forming the eye. Afterward the aX-poll soformed is out off from the end of the rod, which is reheated and anotherpoll formed thereon, as before. Making aX-polls in this manner requiresa great amount of power and very heavy machinery.

Arr-polls made by either of the above machines require subsequenttrimming or harnmering before they are subjected to the finish ingprocess, while by my improved dies, hereinafter described, the arr-pollor other article comes out with perfectly-formed edges and angles, readyfor the eye to be punched, and the cutting edge to be inserted at thebitend of the poll without any trimming or hammering. I therefore effectnot only a great saving of power, but also prevent a large amount ofwaste of stock in the form of scrap-iron.

The machines in which I find my improved dies are best adapted for useare what are known as the drop-hammer, although they can be practicallyemployed in a press.

My improved dies are made in two parts, and are constructed so that noportion of any two opposite acting-faces of the matrix is contained inthe same part of the die-that is to say, the actingfaces which giveshape to one side of the arr-poll, the top of the head, and one otheradjacent edge are formed in one part of the die-for instance, the loweror anvil part when used in a drophammer-while the acting-faces whichgive shape to the other side, the bit end of the axpoll, and the otheradjacent edge are formed in the upper or hammer part of the die. Anolfset is made around the two open edges of each of the side-formingfaces, and the edge-forming faces in each of the two parts of the dieare made to project beyond the side-forming faces a distance at leastequal to the greatest thickness of the finished ax-poll, and preferablya greater dis tance, so thatas the two parts of the die approach oneanother in the swaging operating the edgc-forming faces shall shut overand entirely inclose the side-forming faces before they have so farcompressed the metal of the blank, or pattern, as it is called, as toforce it against the edge-forming faces. By this construction of dies Iam enabled to produce a matrix which is closed on all sides withaccurately-fitting joints where the two parts of the die come togetherbefore the heated metal of the pattern from which the ax-poll or otherarticle is to be formed has been forced outward against the edge-formingfaces of the die, thus preventing the formation of fins around the edgesof the article and producing it wit-h substantially perfect outlines,which cannot be done with dies in use prior to my invention, for themeeting surfaces of the two parts of such prior dies which were intendedto form a closed matrix do not come closely together until the maximumpressure has been brought to bear upon the pattern, so that if there isany excess of metal in the pattern above the capacity of the matrix itmust of necessity be forced out into the spaces between the two parts ofthe die as they approach one, another, or, in dies having an open side,into such opening, and thus either form afin around the edges of thepoll or extend one edge beyond the desired dimensions.

The variation in the amount of metal which ordinarily occurs indifferent patterns is immaterial in the use of my improved dies, asthere are no openings through which the metal can escape while it isbeing compressed, and. in each instance, therefore, a poll or otherarticle with perfectly-formed outlines will be made, varying, if any,from the others of the same kind only in the slight difference of weightand thickness.

In my improved dies, as well as in prior dies which are intended to forma closed matrix, when sufficient pressure has been applied to them toforce the metal of the pattern into every part of the matrix andcompletely fill it, the ax-poll or other article thus formed fitstightly between the edge-forming faces of the die, so that it is amatter of considerable difficulty to withdraw it therefrom. With myimproved dies, however, I overcome all such difficulty by making thelower die-block in two parts, lying one upon the other and hingedtogether at one end, keeping them in place relatively to each other inthe other direction by means of a tongue and groove. The lower or anvildie is formed upon the upper part of this hinged block, with its openside turned away from the hinged end, and is placed thereon in suchposition that each of the edge-forming faces of that part of the matrixshall make substantially the same angle with a plane passing through theaxis of the hinge perpendicularly to the upper surface of the tiltingdieblockthat is to say, an angle of about fortyfive degrees. When thesaid anvil-die is thus arranged, with the upper or hammer die suitablyadjusted in the hammer to operate in con nection with it, if 'the metalof the ax-poll or other article is caused to bind between any twoopposite edge-forming faces, the action of the machine in the operationof raising the hammer-die away from the anvil-die will draw up theanvil-die, and with it' the hinged block on which it is formed, untilthe tilting of the block on its hinge causes the edge-forming faces ofthe anvil-die to recede from the edgeforming faces of the hammer-die,and thus relieve the pressure between the edges of the article and thefaces of the die which form them. The hinged die-block willthen dropback into place, when the ax-poll or other an ticle can be readilyremoved and another pattern inserted. If the lower die is arranged onthe tilting block so that its edge-forming faces are respectivelysubstantially perpendicular and parallel to the said plane passingthrough the axis of the hinge perpendicularly to the tilting die-block,then, when the pressure of the upper andlower dies has forced the metalof the axqaoll or other article hard against the several oppositeedge-forming faces, causing it to bind therein, any attempt to raise thehammer-die from the anvil-die will be attended with much the samedifficulty as. was had with dies heretofore in use, for the reason thatthe edge-forming faces which are perpendicular to the said plane willnot be relieved from the pressure of the edges of the ax-poll or otherarticle by the tilting of the lower dieblook until sufficient force hasbeen exerted upon the hammer-die to overcome the friction existingbetween them, which will be liable to twist the ax-poll'or other articleout of its proper shape within the matrix, and very soon disfigure thefaces of the matrix itself.

The best results to be obtained with my improved die are when it isarranged as above mentioned, so that each of the edge-forming faces ofthe die shall make substantially the same angle with the said planepassing through the axis of the hinge perpendicularly to the tiltingdie-block, and by as much as the edge forming faces are made toapproximate this position by so much will the advantages of this elementof my improvement be measurably obtained. By placing the .pivot of thehinge on which the lower die-block tilts below the lower surface of thatblock, as shown in the drawings, it will readily be seen that thepressure between the edges of the axpoll and the faces of the die whichform them will be more quickly relieved than it would be if the pivotwere located higher up, or in line with the upper surface of that block.

ITO

A still further advantage of my improved die is the construction of theside-forming faces. Across each of these faces, at the portioncorresponding to the location of the eye in the ax-poll, I make aprojection approximating in shape and dimensions to that of onehalf of afinished eye, so that when the sideforming faces act upon the sides ofthe ax poll the metal is displaced by these. projections, and adepression is formed across the poll, on either'side of it, therebyleaving it thinner at that part than at the portions immediatelyadjacent thereto. By this means all the superfluous metal is removedfrom the eye portion of the poll at the same time that the outlinesofthe poll itself are perfectly formed, while by the use of prior existingmachines it is necessary either to remove this excess of metal from theplate partially before it is opera-ted uponby the dies, and the restafterward by hammering, or in the use of the compressing-jaws to punchout a piece of metal equal to the size of the eye, or force such amountof metal into adjacent parts of the rod, wedge shaped at the end,through the poll at the thin portion, which can be readily accomplishedby means of a'machine which I have made the subject of another patent,and all this can be done at one heat.

My improved dies, being open on two sides when the two parts are not inworking contact, can easily, by a slight blast of air, be kept free fromall scale and dirt thrown off from the heated metal by the swagingoperation; also, by making the edge-forming faces project beyondtheside-formingfaces a distance greater than the maximum thickness ofthe poll or other article, several different weights of such articles ofthe same shape can be made in one set of dies, all of which will readilyappear from the drawings annexed to this specification and formingpartthereof, showing only dies for forming air-polls, wherein Figure 1represents a perspective view of inyimproved dies arranged in a drop-hammer ready for operation, with the open side of the lower or anvil dieturned toward the front of the machine. Fig. 2 represents a perspectiveview of the same when looking at the back of the machine or the hingedend of the tilting die-block. Fig. 3 represents a perspective view ofthe upper or hammer die turned over into a position the reverse of thatwhich it occupies in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 represents a cross.- section of theimproved die with the tilting die-block on the line a: at, indicated inFig. 1,

showingtheseveral partsin the position which dies.-

Like parts of the machine in the different figures are designated by thesame letters.

A is the base-piece or anvil of the drop hammer machine.

B is the upright standards, between which the drop orhammeris held andguided. (Represented as broken off in the drawings, in order to showthedieand die-blocks more fully.)

C is the hammer.

d is the upper or hammer die, keyed to the hammer C.

c is the lower or anvil die, formed upon the upper portion of thedie-block f g. The up per portion, f, of this die-block is connected tothe lower portion, g, by means of a hinge, h. A slot. i, is cut in therear end of the block f, Fig. 2, so that it may be adjusted to theproper position backward or forward, in order to bring the anvil-dieinproper relation to the hammer-die. The screw bolt k is made a part ofthe middle knuckle of the hinge J1, and by means of the nut Z, screwedonto the end of the bolt lathe block f can be held firmly in place whenit has been properly adjusted. On the under side of the block f agroove, m, is formed, which fits over a tongue, at, on the upper surfaceof the block 9. Thistongueand groove hold the two blocks f g in a fixedposition sidewise, but allow them to slide upon one another whenadjusting the anvil-die c with thehammerdie d.

0 p are the edge-forming faces of the anvildie ethat is, the faces whichrespectively form two edges of the air-poll namely, thetop of the head 1and one other adjacent edgeand 0' p the two edge-forming faces of thehammer-die d, which respectively form the bit end in of the poll and theother adjacent edge.

q q are respectively the anvil and hammer faces of die-that is, thefaces which form the two sides of the aX-poll. 1- r are the projectionsupon each of these side-forming faces, which form the depression oneither side of the aX-poll, at the eye portion thereof.

.9 s are the offsets on the two open edges of the side-forming faces.

T is thepoll after it has been operated upon by the dies.

u is the depression across the eye portion of the poll, (shown in Fig.6,) formed by the projections r i" on the side-forming faces.

o is the head of the poll, and w the bit end thereof.

The operation of the machine is as follows: When the two parts of thedie (2 and c are in the position shown in Fig. 1, the attendant places aheated blank or pattern (like that shown in Fig. 5) in the anvihdie c,then releases the hammer, which drops, bringing the hammer-die (1 downupon the anvildie e, which compresses the metal of the patternVertically, and thereby'ibrccs it out laterally against the edge-formingfaces of the matrix, and thus makes a poll with perfectly-formedoutlines, as shown at Fig. 6. As the hammerdie d approaches theanvil-die c, their respective lateral or edge-forming faces 0' o p eachpasses by one edge of the sideforming face of the opposite part andmoves in close contact with the offset at that edge. For example, theface 0 moves in contact with offset 8 of the die (2, and face 12 incontact with offset of that die, face 0 in contact with offset 8 of die(I, and face p in contact with offsets of the same die. Thus the matrixformed by the several acting-faces of the die is closed on all sidesbefore the metal of the pattern has been compressed sufficiently toforce it out against strength to nearly support the upper-part, f,

the edge-forming faces, and as the lateral or I edge-forming faces fitclosely against the surfaces of their respective opposite offsets, thereis no opportunity for the metal of the pattern to be forced betweenthem, and thereby produce a fin on the ax-poll. \Vhen the metal of thepattern has been compressed so as to completely fill the matrix, it willbind between the opposite edge-forming faces 0 0 p 19, so that, exceptfor the means which I have provided for relieving this pressure, itwould be a matter of difficulty to withdraw the hammerdie d from theanvil-die 6. However, with my tilting die-block, as soon as the die d begins to ascend, itwill draw the lower die, e, along with it until, bythe tilting of the block f'on the hinge h, the edge-forming faces 0 havereceded sufficiently to relieve the pressure existing between the edgesof the ax-poll T and the said edge-forming faces, as is illustrated'inFig. 4 of the drawings. at which instant the die block f will drop backto its horizontal position again, ready for another operation. Byplacing a spring between the two parts of the die-block f g ofsufficient the operation of tilting it upon its hinge by the pull of thehammer-die inits ascent will be greatly facilitated, although the springis not necessary to the practical operation of the machine. If thepattern has not been sufficiently heated, it may sometimes be foundnecessary to strike two blows with the hammer to completely form theax-poll or other article.

It is obvious that the form of the matrix of the die may be varied so asto make other articles of substantially polyhedral form; but in everyinstance each of the two partsof the die must contain solid orpolyhedral angles made up of adjacent faces of the matrix which are notdiametrically opposite to one another; and, also, in order to produce aperfectlyclosed matrix, as above described, that portion of each of thefaces of the upper and lower dies which passes by and beyond thesurfaces of the other faces must be parallel to the line of motion ofthe hammer.

The ax-p01l or other article produced by my improved dies I have madethe subject of another application for Letters Patent.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In a swaging-machine, a hammer-dieand an anvil-die, which, when brought together, form a closed matrix,and which are so constructed that each die embraces only such of theacting-faces of the matrix as are substantially opposite to thosecontained in the other, and that each die has its lateral acting-facesextended in planes parallel to the direction of movement of thehammerdie, so as to shut by and form a close joint with the acting-faceswhich constitute the hammer and anvil, re spectively, whereby the linesof juncture of the dies, when they are in contact, will be located atthe intersection of the acting faces of the matrix formed thereby,substantially as described.

'2. In a swaging-machine, an anvil-die pro vided with ahinged or pivotedsupport, which will permit the anvil-die to tilt upward when thehammer-die begins to ascend after the swaging operation, in the mannerand for the purpose specified. s

3. In a swaging-machine, a hammer-die and an anvil-die, each of whichembraces such of the acting-faces of the matrix as are substantiallyopposite to those contained in the other, in combination with a hingedsupport for the anvil-die, all so arranged that the open side of theanvil-die shall be turned away from the hinged end of the said support,and the open side of the hammer-die shall be turned toward the hingedend thereof, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

4. In a machine for swaging or pressing axpolls or similar articles ofmetal of polyhedral form, a pair ofpartible dies, each of which containsone or more solid or polyhedral angles formed by complete adjacentacting-faces of the matrix, and each of such faces being substantiallyopposite to one contained in the other die, but no portion of either ofthem be ing diametrically opposite to any other face or portion thereofin the same die, substantially as described.

5. In a machine for swaging ax-polls and similar metal blanks, a pair ofdies substan tially such as are herein described and shown,

thesame being so constructed that the two dies form a closed matrix whenbrought together in the act of swaging the blank, that each die containsonly complete acting-faces of the matrix, and such as are eachsubstantially opposite to a face in the other die, and that a projectionapproximating in form and dimensions to one half of the finished eye tobe subsequently punched in the blank is situated across one face of eachdie, at a location coincident with the position of the eye portion ofthe blank, and diametrically opposite to the like projection upon'thesimilar .face of the other die, whereby, during the operation ofswaging, the blank is confined upon all sides, the lines of juncture ofthe two dies are at angles of intersection of the surfaces of the blank,and the metal displaced from the eye portion of the blank is forced intoadjacent portions and given the desired shape by other parts of thematrix.

6. In a swaging-machine, a pair of partible dies, each of which containsonly such of the acting-faces of the matrix formed thereby as aresubstantially opposite to those contained JOHN WV. BOWERS.

Witnesses:

JOHN T. KENNERK, FRANK O. MELcHER.

It ishereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 296,817, granted April15, 1884, upon the application of John W. Bowers, of Franklin,Massachusetts, for an improvement in Machines for Making Ax-Polls andSimilar T0o1s, an error appears in the printed specification requiringcorrection, as follows, viz: In line 94, page 1 the word operatingshould read operation and that the Letters Patent should be read withthis correction therein to make it conform to the record of the case inthe Patent Oflice.

Signed, countersigned, and sealed this 6th day of May, A. D. 1884;.

[S L. J OSLYN,

Acting Secretary of the Interior. Gonntersigned BENJ'. BUTTERWORTH,

Commissioner of Patents.

